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Every other week, CRAFT's awesome interns tell about the projects they're building in the Craft: Labs, the trouble they've gotten into, and what they'll make next.
By Lindsey North, projects intern
As readers of CRAFT and MAKE know, finding materials for projects can sometimes be challenging, if not downright maddening. I've spent hours online looking for very specialized materials that appear to be as mythical as unicorns. And even when you know exactly what you're after, you have to surf the web looking for the best deals.
To make CRAFT's Crocheted Wooden Bowl project by Vickie Howell, I remember hunting for yarn made from pineapple fibers that would be used to crochet around the wooden bowl to add decoration and color.
Pineapple fiber yarn! Come on! Where do you find that?
I searched online and learned that pineapple fiber is commonly called pina or piña. I called every yarn store in Sonoma County and then started calling the bigger stores in San Francisco. I couldn't find what I wanted.
So I did a general search and found Knit Purl, a store in Portland, Oregon, that carried the whole line of alternate-fiber yarns. These were made from various barks and leaves, and dyed with amazing colors; the saturation and hue reminded me of a florist's shop. And they had pineapple yarn! Theirs is called fique (fee-kay) and is made from a relative of the commercial pineapple plant. The store owners were very helpful, as they allowed me to pay over the phone and shipped the yarn to me. Knit Purl is the place to go for strange and awesome yarns. At this point in my crafting career that has been my greatest acquisitional challenge.
I had a blast working on this project after I found the yarn and some wooden bowls that didn't "cost an arm and a leg." (I would have a hard time spending big bucks on something I'm just going to drill holes in.) Returning to the Craft Lab, I measured and marked the points where I would be drilling my wooden bowls. (Measuring is very important and should never be skipped ever if you are a trained professional.)
Then I crocheted my way around the bowl, slowly decreasing as I got closer to the base. I ended the last ring around the base, and wove the end back in. This bowl looks totally awesome when it is full of fruit -- or balls of hard-to-find yarn.
Your CRAFT intern,
Lindsey
I love piña fiber~ The first thing I tend to think of are traditional piña clothing from the Philippines, its so sheer and soft.
I've been trying to see if my cousins in the Philippines can get their hands on a couple of cones to send here so I can knit and crochet with. :p
Did you know that the piña weavers in the Philippines are in decline? They almost disappeared a couple of times, but the craft is slowly (and I mean very slowly) coming back. It's being revived mostly due to interest in the traditional arts and crafts, but there are very few young Filipino's interested in continuing the tradition.
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My hardest hunts so far have been for the perfect tatting shuttle (in person, so I can test the feel of it) and glow-in-the-dark yarn. I found a metal shuttle that works pretty well, though it is lacking a feature or two I would've liked. Glow-in-the-dark yarn, however, I'm still working on. I've found plenty of references to it and a fair amount of spools of thinner ply than I'd like (I'm aiming for worsted weight for ease integrating into an amigurumi - acrylic would be preferable too), but nothing that's both just what I want and in stock. I'm re-inspired now, though! :D If you could find pineapple fiber yarn, surely I can find some worsted weight glow-in-the-dark!
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Hey Alex, I found a heavier weight glow in the dark yarn at Mary Maxim online, you should check it out it might work for you.
Lindsey
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Bwah, in stock - and at such a great price! Thanks so much!
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I have yarn made from opossum fur.
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seriously? o_o Is it soft?
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